Chapter 43

Dominic

I got out of the car, slammed the door harder than I meant to, and stalked inside, following Vivian's scent though the estate until I found her.

"Vivian!" I barked, the sound of her name cracking through the quiet like a gunshot.

I shoved the parlor door open, snarling at her and shutting the door behind me.

"Daddy, what---"

"I have never been so disappointed in you as I am right now, Vivian."

Her eyes widened. "What—"

"In all of you," I snarled, glaring at the others. "Your alpha's will be hearing about how all of you are wicked little bullies." They look affronted. "If I had the power to inflict punishment upon you all, I certainly would, but you are not my problem.” I looked at Vivian. "You are my problem. I cannot believe that you would even think that this is okay. I cannot believe that you think I would condone what you have done."

"Daddy, you're yelling at me—"

"It's the least of your problems!" I roared. She drew back. "We do not treat people the way you have treated Renee."

She bristled. "Daddy, what—"

"Quiet!" I shouted. "Nearly every word out of your mouth for years has been a fucking lie when it comes to Renee. You had no place, no right, and no reason to treat Renee like she was nothing."

"You're not being fair."

"You left her behind. You excluded and humiliated her. It doesn't matter how big Frostborne is or was, she was the daughter of an alpha, a person, your friend, and you treated her like garbage."

She crossed her arms. "I didn't do anything wrong!"

"Tell me what she likes to order from Crescent." She set her jaw and I turned to look at the others. "Any of you? Don't be shy about it. Speak up!"

"You don't understand. Renee doesn't even like—"

I hissed. "How would you even know if you didn't even invite her!"

"Why should I invite her if she can't even pay for it?"

"You chose not to pay her way," I said, low and cold. "Knowing that if the situation was reversed, she would have never treated you that way."

"She's not perfect—"

"You used her loyalty like it was something disposable!" I gestured to the rest of them. "You treated these young ladies, who on the whole don't even like you, like they were worthy of your friendship and treated the one real friend you have like dirt. Birthday gifts bought. Dinners paid for you said Renee had attended. For what? What do you get out of treating her so terribly?"

Vivian scoffed and crossed her arms. "Daddy, you don't know anything—"

"Don't tell me what I don't know, Vivian." I growled. "Answer the question."

She threw up her hand. "How am I supposed to have nice birthday pictures in her cheap clothes? It's my birthday and it's not my problem. She would have been more embarrassed if she'd come. It's not like she even knows how to dress herself."

I saw red.

"You are my daughter, Vivian. You had enough money to buy —"

"It's my birthday. I should be —"

"— clothes for her, these girls, and yourself a hundred times over without even noticing! You should have bought her something," I snarled, stepping closer. "You had every resource at your fingertips. You had the money. You had the means. You just didn't have the heart. You were selfish. Spoiled."

She flinched, but I wasn’t done. Not by a long shot. I shook my head.

"I acknowledge my part to play in your selfishness, but that does not excuse you for disregarding every lesson, every token of wisdom, every moral principle that I have tried to instill in you. She saved your life, Vivian," I said, my voice low and shaking with fury. "She risked her life for you, and you couldn't even buy her a nice dress so she can celebrate your birthday with you?"

Vivian opened her mouth like she was going to defend herself again, but I cut her off.

"There is nothing you could say to make this better," I said coldly. "Not now. Not ever. You owe me more than excuses, and you owe her even more than that. So help me Vivian…"

Her jaw trembled. "You're just being mean to me because you like her more."

"Right now, Vivian, you're nothing more than a spoiled, selfish, witch."

Her eyes went glossy with tears.

"I have never been more disappointed with you. I have never thought I could be disgusted by you, but I am. If your mother was here…" I shook my head. "What reason can you possibly offer to treat her so terribly? Why be her friend at all if you couldn't even manage to treat her properly? What is it Vivian?"

Vivian scoffed, tossing her hair back like she could shrug off everything I’d just said.

"You’re just overreacting because you have a soft spot for her," she snapped. "Because she looks like mom. She's not mom! And you can't tell me how to run my life! She's poor. She's always been poor. I'm only friends with her because she makes me look better."

I stared at her. I swept my gaze over the rest of the room. None of them met my gaze. Then, I looked back at Vivian.

"Renee is the prettiest friend you have." She and the rest of them reared back. "She's prettier than you. She always has been. And you know it's true."

She flushed.

"That's why you made sure not to invite her, didn't offer to get her anything to wear to your events." I set my jaw. "And Renee has never been poor. Her mother was a familial pack member of Mountainhowl."

Her eyes bulged.

"And thanks to you and Tyler, I had to sit across the table from the alpha and luna of Mountainhowl while Renee explained that my daughter and gamma treated her like shit for years!" I shook my head. "Don't worry about it, you'll suffer tenfold for what you've put Renee through and the shame you and your idiot friend has brought on my pack."

I turned, pulling the door open and yelling down the hallway. "Escort them out. Vivian will not be hosting anything for the foreseeable future."

"What about my birthday?"

"As far as I'm concerned, you don't have one you can't afford on your own." I glared at her. "You are officially cut off."

She laughed. "This is ridiculous! You’re not actually going to punish me over Renee."

I stared at her, cold and unmoving.

"Oh, I’m not just going to punish you," I said evenly. "I'm going to teach you a lesson you clearly missed growing up. Your allowance is revoked. Every cent you used to get? It's going to charity, and the money you lied about using being out with Renee? I'm going to tally it up and take it out of what's left of your inheritance."

"Daddy—"

"Whatever is left is going to charity. You have a month to find a job. Rent is due on the first."

Her jaw dropped. Someone gasped.

"And it will be garnished from your check if you want to keep living here. If you don't find a job to cover your expenses, I will drop your ass off at a Brightclaw shelter."

She went pale. "Y-You—"

"I tried to teach you to be a decent person. I tried to teach you grace and charity, but it seems like the only way you can learn to appreciate your privilege and be grateful is to not have it. We'll see how you feel about people who don't have as much when you're one of them!"

She shook her head. "Y-You can't. How am I supposed to —"

"You'll figure it out."

Vivian’s face turned an ugly shade of red. "This is insane! All because of her—!"

I cut her off with a sharp look. "This has nothing to do with Renee. This is about you. You made these choices. You treated someone who loved you like trash. Now you’re going to live with the consequences."

Renee

It had been days since the dinner. Arielle had gotten busy, so I was basically living out of the unworn section of her closet, right down to the fancy, lingerie still in its boxes. The fifth of ten rejection emails sat open on my phone, the words blurring together.

We regret to inform you...

...selected another candidate...

...thank you for your interest.

I dropped the phone onto Arielle's guest bed with a sigh, pressing the heels of my hands into my eyes. I was running out of places to apply to, and the pit in my stomach kept growing bigger, gnawing at any hope I had left. I didn’t want to ask Arielle for help. I wanted to do this myself, and surely, Philip's influence didn't actually go that far, right?

I needed to prove to myself more than anything that I could.

My phone buzzed again. I grabbed it automatically, expecting another rejection.

But instead, a new subject line caught my eye:

Invitation to Interview – Nordwell Financial Group